Stage 6 - June 8: Bretten - Bretten ITT, 40.7 km

Rogers wins TT and takes lead

Gonzalez de Galdeano crashes out

Tour of Belgium winner Michael Rogers (Quick.Step-Davitamon) is poised to win
his second national tour in a row, after impressively winning the sixth stage
time trial in the Tour of Germany today. Rogers, who is one of the better riders
against the clock, recorded a time of 51:36.21 (47.32 km/h) on the flat but
technical parcours to beat Jan Ullrich (Bianchi) by 1'10 and Alexandre Vinokourov
(Telekom) by 1'13. The win put Rogers in command in the overall classification,
after overnight leader Jose Azevedo (ONCE) could only manage a time of 53:37.

"Before the race I thought I'd have done well but was a little worried about
Gonzalez de Galdeano and Ullrich," said a satisfied Rogers at the finish. "The
route of the race was quite tricky with lots of short but difficult sections
and on top of this there was a strong head wind. During the first few kilometres
I didn't feel good, but as time and the kilometres passed by I got into the
race and started doing better."

"Today's win is the fruit of all of my hard work this winter," he added. "I
really trained hard this winter often going on long solo rides. At the moment
I'm satisfied, but not completely fulfilled. Along with the help of my teammates,
tomorrow I'll be defending the leader's jersey. The race doesn't look too difficult,
but I'm sure my opponents will be on the attack. Having said this, I'm pretty
sure I'll be able to hold on to my leadership."

After completely dominating yesterday's stage, ONCE's fortunes took an about
face today when they failed to perform to expectations in the time trial (Azevedo
was the best finisher in 7th). The team wasn't helped when 2002 Tour of Germany
winner Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano crashed with 3 km to go in the stage after
hitting a metal barricade. Gonzalez de Galdeano was not on track for the fastest
time, but could well have kept his second position on GC. He was taken to hospital
with cuts and bruises to his right shoulder and there are fears for a broken
collarbone.

Gonzalez wasn't the only rider to have some bad luck: Telekom's Alexandre Vinokourov
went off course during his ride and had to turn around, missing out on second
place on the stage and possibly second overall, which is now being held by Jose
Azevedo.

Team Bianchi's Jan Ullrich had a good day, setting the fastest time for a
while until Rogers came alone and obliterated it. Ullrich finished second on
the stage and moved up to fifth overall, saying that he was satisfied with his
performance, and that there is still time before the Tour de France to improve.

Tomorrow's final stage of the Tour of Germany shouldn't present Michael Rogers
with any problems defending his leader's jersey. Measuring 174 km between Bad
Dürkheim and Saarbrücken, it contains just three Category 3 climbs, and looks
to be a chance for the sprinters.